[nandm]

Welcome to our mental health forum.

We have some things in common. I spent 20 years working as a nurse and 12 working as a paramedic. I too have PTSD which has come to light since I got sober.

I ignored and did not deal with it for the first 3 years of my sobriety. Needless to say without the alcohol to numb it things got much worse. It got to the point where I at times could not even leave my house due to the anxiety.

I have spent the last 4 years working on it. I still have an anti-anxiety agent to get me through those days that it rears its ugly head and keeps me from leaving my home or when I am in situations where I will have anxiety. Some days are definately better than others. Sometimes it seems like the more I work with the therapist the worse it gets but I understand that is part of the process.

I am currently in school to find a new career as returning to nursing or paramedic is not something my therapist believes is going to be healthy for me. I am grateful though as I never wanted to be a nurse anyway and it allowed me to raise my children. Now it is nice to be able to pursue the career I am intersted in; marine or wildlife biology. My goal is to get the PTSD to a manageable level if not completely resolved. Since mine is related to a lot of cummulative things starting with childhood there is a lot there to get past so I realize it may take some time.

Good luck with what is going on in your life.

Judith